Doctoral Tams

Doctoral Velvet Tams are available in your choice of four, six, or eight corners and in your choice of either a gold silky or gold metallic tassel.

Whether you pick a 4, 6, or 8 corner tam has less to do with regulation and more to do with looking your best! Generally, most people seem to prefer the six sided tam, however extremely tall and skinny people may do better with the 8 corner tam since it tends to look more round, and help "fill a person out", while short stocky people may do better with a 4 corner model, since it is sharper and thus makes the person look "less round".

Both tassels are very beautiful. They are two button doctoral tassels that are permanently sewn onto your selected tam. The difference between them is whether they are made of fabric or metallic thread. The metallic tassels definitely have a special shine to them and stand out more than the silky ones.

Because these tams are made of velvet, it would not matter which fabric your gown is made from; you could still purchase the tams without fear of mismatching. This differs from hoods which should preferably be made from the same fabric quality as the gown. Also for this reason, many people purchasing Souvenir Quality gowns also purchase these tams as a way of upgrading their look without actually purchasing a more expensive gown. Even if you should upgrade to a more expensive gown later on, you would still use the same tam.

Most faculty members who have doctoral degrees purchase tams to differentiate themselves from students and non-doctors. However if you do not wish to purchase a tam, then we will be happy to send you a mortarboard and tassel at no charge, upon request.

Be sure to indicate your hat size or your head size. Using a tape, measure the circumference of your head about an inch over your eyebrow. the size should be in the neighborhood of 22 to 23 1/2 inches. It should be snug but not too tight. Round size to nearest quarter inch. If you are between sizes, err to the larger quarter inch. A cap size would be something like 6 7/8, 7 1/4, 7 3/8, etc.

Upon request, we can also special make you tams in other velvet colors, such as Ph.D. blue (to match a Ph.D. blue velvet gown) or light blue. The cost to change the velvet from black to a different color is $20.00.

We can special make 8 - sided "beefeater tams" in your choice of color. The cost of a beefeater tam is $145.00